Vive La Vallette
ENCOURAGED by your recent well-balanced Opinion column and coupled with the broadly positive feedback received since our public presentation at Les Cotils, the Vive La Vallette group wish to reach out to the whole community, who we believe can all benefit from our long-term vision for La Vallette.
We have taken note of the issues raised at the public presentation and subsequently. We will endeavour to allay the concerns of the regular users and the wider public as we progress and respect the importance of the area to so many people. There do however remain significant challenges to overcome if this project is to be completed by June 2021, in time for Guernsey’s hosting of the NatWest International Island Games.
The VLV group has injected passion, energy and considerable effort in recent months to move the plans from initial concept through to a detailed design, which is ready for submission as a formal planning application. This has been achieved at no cost to the public purse and those involved accept that if a satisfactory agreement cannot be concluded with the States of Guernsey for the long-term lease of the site and the ongoing maintenance of the pools, then we will have no alternative than to stop pursuing our ambitious vision for La Vallette.
This would be a massive disappointment to us as a group, but we also believe a missed opportunity to enhance one of Guernsey’s most attractive, engaging and connected sites. A sensitively redeveloped La Vallette has the potential to be a long-term community asset which is welcoming to all, easily accessible from Town and complements the natural beauty and heritage of its location while respecting the environment.
Accessibility and inclusiveness are part of our core values and this is a not-for-profit initiative with any surplus funds being reinvested into the site and/or future enhancement of the area.
We are also of the view that a successful outcome can be an exemplar of public/private partnership and a model that can be applied elsewhere on the island.
The VLV team has begun a journey that we would welcome everyone to join us on. We have no wish to continue with the project if our vision does not find favour with either the States of Guernsey nor a significant majority of our community.
We thank those who have supported us so far and look forward to welcoming many more supporters to help make this exciting opportunity a reality.
For more information please visit our Facebook page and/or contact Steve Sharman by email at sharmo7@hotmail.com.
DAVID DE LA MARE, HELEN BONNER-MORGAN, STEVE SHARMAN, WENDY ENSIK, ANDY HALL, PHIL TAYLOR, IAN DAMARELL, LINDA BOUCHER-HARRIS, DAVE WARR, EMILY SQUIRE
The VLV team.